Amiya Kumar Mallick and Purnima Hembram grabbed the other two gold medals in men`s 100m sprint and women`s heptathlon. Bhubaneswar sprinter Mallick, who was adjudged the fastest man of the meet with a timing of 10.56 seconds, also attained the qualifying mark for the Asian championship.

Asserting their supremacy in sprint events, Odisha athletes garnered as many as five medals. In women`s category, Odisha made it one-two in both the 100 and 200 metre events. Dutee Chand, the most promising sprinter of the country, picked up silver medals in both the events, clocking 11.86 and 24.52 seconds respectively.

Dutee`s performance, however, belied her reputation as the fastest woman of the last National Games, where she had won the 100m gold with a meet mark, clocking 11.73 seconds. The reason for the decline in performance can be understood from the fact that Dutee has been struggling to sustain her career following a ban by Athletics Federation of India last year for having excess of androgen (male hormone) in her body.

She, of course, found some relief as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) allowed her participation in domestic meets till the final hearing of her appeal. But discontinuation in practice and mental suffering has adversely affected her form.

Heptathlete Purnima, who secured the gold with 5462 points, also qualified for the Asian championship. The lone bronze medal was claimed by woman hammer thrower Sarita Singh with an effort of 54.97 metres.
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TOP: Srabani Nanda (Left) with Dutee Chand in Mangalore on May 2, 2015.
RIGHT: Amiya Mallick with his gold medal in Mangalore on May 2, 2015.